- José María Arguedas, "The Pongo's Dream" ("El sueño del pongo")
- Miguel Angel Asturias, "The Legend of the Silent Bell" ("Leyenda de la campana difunta")
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José María Arguedas lee El sueño del pongo:
Santiago Alvarez - El sueño del Pongo (1970):
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- How does the "folk" differ from the "popular"?
- In Latin America, what is the relationship between "folk culture" and indigeneity?
- How might the transcription, translation, and transformation of an oral tale into a written one affect how we understand it?
- In "The Pongo's Dream," what is the function or purpose of the story that the pongo tells?
- In "The Legend of the Silent Bell," what is the role of the senses (such as sight or hearing)?
- How are Arguedas's and Asturias's stories similar? How do they differ?
- What is the role of the Church and/or Christian belief in these two stories?
- To what extent do these stories manifest forms of resistance? To what extent might we think of them instead as conservative?
Folktales questions
Here are the questions you posed in your blogs in response to the stories retold by Miguel Angel Asturias and José María Arguedas…
Have you ever had something get “lost in translation,” literally between languages, or potentially, between cultures (something makes sense in one culture but not another)?
I am curious as to what extent Latin American folklore permeates culture and society today. If anyone has more experience or knowledge with folklore than I do, I wonder in what ways does it influence life in Latin America, whether that be in music, traditions, beliefs or customs?
Are these readings reflecting the way the Indigenous have been perceived/treated throughout the history until present in Latin America?
What can we understand about the conditions of the working class and indigenous populations in colonial nations? and what were the forms of backlash and revolution against colonial rule in Latin America?
Do you think that there is any other idea or imagery that serves as a microcosm of what is taking place throughout this piece?
Do you think that the pongo will be able to see light in his life? Did the writer, Arguedas, may have deeper meaning to the pongo’s dream? (Dream can be portrayed as his will or his ‘actual’ dream that he dreamt and shared with the master.) The dual meaning of the word dream…?
What do you guys think the ending of the dream means?
Although ordinary people, like the angel, might seem weak, they become strong once they see their power and mission. And although the system benefits the oppressive master, it should not because, as the dream showed, lowly people are right and are appreciated before the father’s eyes. This idea validates a possible fight against the current social order. Maybe this last interpretation was a bit too much and did not make sense. So, I wonder what you guys think of it. Also, what do you think the pongo’s horror and scary face mean or represent?
Do you think stories that are passed down verbally are accurate to when they were first told? Does this accuracy matter? Could shifts in culture also shift the way the story was told or played out?
What purpose do folktales fulfill in a culture?
What did you think of the pongo’s dream? Do you believe that there could be a life after death? If so, what does it look like?
